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Being a Professional is about Presence

The other day I was listening in on a call between my client and her teacher. This teacher was my teacher too a half decade ago. I was asked to be there by my client as another ear. In the event of an interpersonal gap, I would translate what each of them said in a language they could both understand.

There were times in the conversation when one or the other was talking where I became confused. My job is to use myself as a diagnostic tool within a system. When I feel confused, I check in with myself. Did I disassociate? Is this triggering an emotion or a memory in me? Am I feeling centered and connected to my role and my purpose? Am I still confused?

There were times when I was truly confused about their points. I would then actively listen by asking clarifying questions. Draw attention to the purpose of the call. Paraphrase what one said and ask if I got that right. Helping them deepen and clarify what it was they were trying to say.

At the end of the call, we evolved the issue, finding resolution in parts and creating a deeper understanding in others.

A few days later, I received an email from my teacher. He said that I was “very professional” on the call. I was “open-hearted, direct, and helped create openings” for the client.

I was pleased with the feedback, that was my experience as well. What struck me was the word professional.

Being a professional means many things. Wikipedia says a professional is someone with standards of education and training that prepare them for a particular activity which requires a specific set of knowledge and skills necessary to perform their role.

I define professional as someone who knows themselves – where they are going and how to get there. Can generate genuine curiosity for the path of others, where they learn about themselves or their profession through the process of relationship. And who have the ability to see the larger context at play in any situation.

On paper, I have been a professional for a long time. I learned knowledge and skills to apply to a particular activity. Yet, to be very good at my job, I had to BE-come a professional with my presence.

As a leadership coach and organizational development consultant, I help systems move toward health. Whether an internal system within an individual or a larger system of a family or organization.

All of these systems want to live in harmony with the world around it, like an untouched eco-system. Problem is sometimes even an untouched eco-system gets input from the world that a change needs to take place. Change is not usually something we enter into voluntarily, as most change creates chaos. Because of this, we shy away. What helps is when there is someone to hold the chaos. That is my job. I am a professional chaos holder.

Holding chaos is a learned experience. Yet there are some skills, knowledge, and mindsets that make holding the chaos easier. I teach these.

We begin with an inquiry into self. Through this inquiry we find our place. Where we are starting from and where we want to go. From there we learn how to read the signals of the path and intervene with genuine curiosity. Then, we learn how to hold those view points and move toward our hoped for result.

Through these practices, we can voluntarily enter into a conversation with a system. We can take calculated risks to shift the holding pattern it is stuck in. This holding pattern can be within an individuals body or a larger system. Shifting this holding pattern allows the system to see and feel itself differently. This creates an opening to change that allows the system to move toward health.

Come learn how to BE a professional in any profession by understanding and using your presence. Invite perspective.